The present invention relates to the art of indicating devices and, more particularly, to an indicator for visually indicating that a shipping container has been excessively tilted during transportation thereof from one location to another.
It is known to provide shipping containers with indicating devices which are operable to provide a person receiving goods shipped in the containers with a visual indication as to whether or not the latter may be damaged as a result of excessive tilting during transportation thereof. In this respect, certain goods need to be maintained in an upright or substantially upright position during transportation, in that excessive tilting of the container in which the goods are shipped can result in undue strain on component parts of the goods and damage or breakage thereof. Such indicating devices generally include a flowable colored granular or liquid material in combination, respectively, with a tacky or stainable material onto which the granular or liquid material flows upon excessive tilting of the container, thus to provide a visual indication of such tilting and a warning to the receiver that the goods may be damaged. While such indicating devices heretofore provided are capable of serving their intended purpose, they are structurally complex and thus expensive to manufacture, whereby the cost thereof to the consumer has limited their acceptance and use. In this respect, for example, the indicating devices require special container designs and constructions for the flowable material which necessitates sophisticated and expensive tooling. Further, assembly procedures with respect to the component parts of the indicators are time consuming and may require specialized machines and equipment which further adds to the cost of the final product.